Ford Mach 1 Returns – As An Electric Performance SUV

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Looks like Ford is planning to electrify some of its most iconic nameplates in the future.

Well this is a surprise. As well as unveiling the new 2018 Ford Mustang Bullitt as we expected, Ford also announced at the Detroit Auto Show that it is reviving the Mach 1 nameplate for an upcoming electric performance car. But before you get excited that the new Mach 1 will be the name of the long-rumored hybrid Mustang as a homage to the original Mach 1 Mustang from the 1970s, reports suggest it will be an electric SUV. Details are scarce, as the news was announced during a presentation by Ford at the show with no concept car on display.

All we know for now is that the project is being developed by Ford Team Edison, the automaker's battery electric division, and is set to debut sometime in 2020. At this point, it isn’t clear if the Mach 1 will be fully electric or a hybrid. The brief one-minute long teaser released by the automaker doesn’t give us much to go on, either.

It’s certainly an interesting name choice, as the Mach 1 moniker implies the project will be related to the Mustang in some way. Speaking to Jalopnik, Ford Executive Vice President Raj Nair confirmed that the Mach 1 will not be based on the Mustang, and will instead be built on a unique platform since it will be battery electric. However, he also said that “a Mustang-inspired crossover is certainly something you can expect to come out of Team Edison” in the future. A Ford Explorer features in the teaser announcement video, but it hasn’t been confirmed that this is what the electrified Mach 1 will be based on.

The Mach 1 name denotes the performance package variant of the Mustang that was first used for the 1969 model year. It was sold as a special edition Mustang Mach 1 in 2003 and 2004 but hasn’t been used since. Now it looks as if the Mach 1 will represent Ford’s assault on the Tesla Model X in 2020 as part of Ford’s plan of “electrifying the iconic nameplates”.